Biology News - Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnologyhttp://phys.org/biology-news/
en-usPhys.org provides the latest news on biology, evolution, microbiology, biotechnologyBiology, meet philology: First application of phylogenetic evolutionary framework to color naming(Phys.org)—That there are universal patterns in the naming of colors across languages has long been a topic of discussion in a range of disciplines, including anthropology, cognitive science and linguistics. However, previous color term research has not applied an evolutionary framework to the analysis of these worldwide patterns. Recently, scientists at Yale University traced the history of color systems in language by applying phylogenetic methods across a large language tree. They not only validated the phylogenetic approach to culture, but also generated a precise history of color terms across a large language sample drawn from the Pama-Nyungan languages of Australia, and moreover provided evidence supporting the loss and, as had been previously known, gain of color terms in the evolutionary process.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-biology-philology-application-phylogenetic-evolutionary.html
Evolution Fri, 09 Dec 2016 11:00:01 ESTnews400502842Blueprint for shape in ancient land plantsScientists from the Universities of Bristol and Cambridge have unlocked the secrets of shape in the most ancient of land plants using time-lapse imaging, growth analysis and computer modelling.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-blueprint-ancient.html
Biotechnology Fri, 09 Dec 2016 10:01:54 ESTnews400500104Environmental DNA effectively monitors aquatic species populationsEnvironmental DNA (eDNA), the nuclear or mitochondrial DNA shed from an organism into its environment, is a rapidly evolving tool for monitoring the distribution of aquatic species. A new study published in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society discusses the ability of eDNA to accurately predict the presence, relative abundance, and biomass of wild Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) populations.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-environmental-dna-effectively-aquatic-species.html
Ecology Fri, 09 Dec 2016 09:57:32 ESTnews400499842Scientist pioneers novel ways to study endangered baleen whalesAlthough North Atlantic right whales, humpback whales and bowhead whales–all species of baleen whales–are some of the largest animals on Earth, they are also among the most critically endangered. These whales were hunted nearly to extinction over the last 300 years for their blubber, which was used to produce oil. Fortunately, these species are repopulating, but because they reproduce slowly, their numbers are more vulnerable to dangers such as collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing lines.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-scientist-ways-endangered-baleen-whales.html
Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Dec 2016 09:40:01 ESTnews400498274Weather radar helps researchers track bird fluThe same weather radar technology used to predict rain is now giving UC researchers the ability to track wild birds that could carry the avian influenza virus. Avian influenza, which kills chickens, turkeys and other birds, can take a significant economic toll on the poultry industry. In 2014-15, the United States experienced its worst bird flu outbreak in history, resulting in more than 48 million birds dying in 15 states, including California.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-weather-radar-track-bird-flu.html
Ecology Fri, 09 Dec 2016 09:33:26 ESTnews400498397New tool for fighting wildlife traffickingA new tool for fighting wildlife trafficking developed by a team led by a UC San Diego mechanical engineering alum has been selected as the overall winner of the inaugural global "Zoohackathon" sponsored by the U.S. Government's Task Force on Combating Wildlife Trafficking.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-tool-wildlife-trafficking.html
Ecology Fri, 09 Dec 2016 09:32:57 ESTnews400498368Researchers calculate minimum amount of land perseveration needed to prevent extinction of giant panda(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with members from several institutions in China has calculated what they believe is the minimum amount of land preservation needed to sustain wild giant panda populations. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers outline how they came up with their numbers and what they believe needs to happen to ensure the survival of these unique bears.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-minimum-amount-perseveration-extinction-giant.html
Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Dec 2016 08:40:01 ESTnews400490522Thai Navy shows off technology to fight fishing abusesThailand's navy on Friday showed off new technology to monitor fishing boats in a renewed effort to crack down on illegal fishing, forced labor and corruption in the seafood industry.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-thai-navy-technology-fishing-abuses.html
Ecology Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:40:55 ESTnews400491650Trapdoor spiders disappearing from Australian landscapeRecent surveys by Australian scientists have identified an apparent significant decline in the numbers of trapdoor spiders across southern Australiahttp://phys.org/news/2016-12-trapdoor-spiders-australian-landscape.html
Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:19:40 ESTnews400490371Male vs. female stress responses may explain sex differences in diseasesThe differences in how male and female fruit flies resist and adapt to oxidative stress may shed new light on how age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's affect men and women differently.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-male-female-stress-responses-sex.html
Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Dec 2016 06:20:33 ESTnews400486822Canadian zoo probing penguin drowning deathsA Canadian zoo has launched an investigation into the mysterious drowning deaths of seven Humboldt penguins.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-canadian-zoo-probing-penguin-deaths.html
Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Dec 2016 04:13:50 ESTnews400479226Shark's 8,500-mile odyssey ends on a NC fisherman's hookA mako shark caught by commercial fishermen off North Carolina traveled more than 8,500 miles after a tracking device was attached 18 months earlier, an ocean research group says.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-shark-mile-odyssey-nc-fisherman.html
Ecology Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:36:16 ESTnews400437371Protein disrupts infectious biofilmsMany infectious pathogens are difficult to treat because they develop into biofilms, layers of metabolically active but slowly growing bacteria embedded in a protective layer of slime, which are inherently more resistant to antibiotics. Now, a group of researchers at Caltech and the University of Oxford have made progress in the fight against biofilms. Led by Dianne Newman, the Gordon M. Binder/Amgen Professor of Biology and Geobiology, the group identified a protein that degrades and inhibits biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the primary pathogen in cystic fibrosis (CF) infections.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-protein-disrupts-infectious-biofilms.html
Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:09:53 ESTnews400435786Study finds less fragmentation in muzzleloading and black powder cartridge riflesA new study found that traditional bullets for muzzleloading rifles and black powder rifle cartridges fragment less upon impact and may leave far fewer lead fragments in game than a modern high-velocity rifle bullet.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-fragmentation-muzzleloading-black-powder-cartridge.html
Ecology Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:07:45 ESTnews400435630Researchers map neural circuitry of songbird learningHow do juvenile songbirds learn to sing in a way that preserves both the unique features of local song culture and their specifics-specific song "signature"? Researchers have begun to map the brain circuitry responsible for cultural transmission and species specificity in birdsong.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-neural-circuitry-songbird.html
Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Dec 2016 15:59:21 ESTnews400435153Evolution in action: A fish adapts quickly to lethal levels of pollutionEvolution is working hard to rescue some urban fish from a lethal, human-altered environment, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis, and published Dec. 9 in the journal Science.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-evolution-action-fish-quickly-lethal.html
Evolution Thu, 08 Dec 2016 14:00:09 ESTnews400416648The song of silenceLike humans learning to speak, juvenile birds learn to sing by mimicking vocalizations of adults of the same species during development. Juvenile birds preferentially learn the song of their own species, even in noisy environments with a variety of different birdsongs. But how they can recognize their species' song has, until now, remained a mystery. In a collaborative study, neuroscientists and a physicist at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have uncovered an innate mechanism for species identification based on the silent gaps between birdsong syllables.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-song-silence.html
Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Dec 2016 14:00:06 ESTnews400416774Climate change is already causing widespread local extinction in plant and animal speciesExtinctions related to climate change have already happened in hundreds of plant and animal species around the world. New research, publishing on December 8th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, shows that local extinctions have already occurred in 47% of the 976 plant and animal species studied.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-climate-widespread-local-extinction-animal.html
Ecology Thu, 08 Dec 2016 14:00:02 ESTnews400416823Fishery bycatch rapidly driving Mexico's vaquita to extinction, new studies findOne of the most sophisticated networks of acoustic detectors ever developed for wildlife science has documented a devastating 34 percent per year decline of Mexico's critically endangered vaquita porpoise, according to a new study published this week in the journal Conservation Biology.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-fishery-bycatch-rapidly-mexico-vaquita.html
Ecology Thu, 08 Dec 2016 13:33:16 ESTnews400426387An anti-CRISPR for gene editingResearchers have discovered a way to program cells to inhibit CRISPR-Cas9 activity. "Anti-CRISPR" proteins had previously been isolated from viruses that infect bacteria, but now University of Toronto and University of Massachusetts Medical School scientists report three families of proteins that turn off CRISPR systems specifically used for gene editing. The work, which appears December 15 in Cell, offers a new strategy to prevent CRISPR-Cas9 technology from making unwanted changes.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-anti-crispr-gene.html
Biotechnology Thu, 08 Dec 2016 13:29:38 ESTnews400426169The 2016 Ocean Health Index shows no major declines—and few real improvementsThe results are in, and while the world's oceans show no significant decline over the past year, their condition should not be mistaken as a clean bill of health.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-ocean-health-index-major-declinesand.html
Ecology Thu, 08 Dec 2016 12:25:57 ESTnews400422337RNA modification important for brain functionResearchers at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have shown that a new way of regulating genes is vital for the activity of the nervous system. They found that this form of regulation, a chemical modification on RNA called m6A, is also important in influencing whether flies become male or female. This study clearly shows that RNA modifications play an important role.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-rna-modification-important-brain-function.html
Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Dec 2016 12:24:35 ESTnews400422249Scientists reveal 'safety catch' within all dividing cellsResearchers have made a major discovery about how cells control when to divide - representing a step forward in scientists' understanding of one of the most fundamental processes of life.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-scientists-reveal-safety-cells.html
Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Dec 2016 12:00:07 ESTnews400415448Valuable Caribbean spiny lobsters get their food from an unexpected sourceIn the typical food web that most of us learned in school, the sun is the ultimate source of energy. Plants use energy from the sun to produce their own food via photosynthesis. Animals eat those plants or other animals. But in marine environments, some organisms instead get their energy from chemosynthetic bacteria, which produce their own food from simple chemicals in the environment. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology on December 8 have found that chemosynthesis plays an unexpectedly essential role even in shallow waters, supporting populations of one of the most lucrative fishery species in Central America: the Caribbean spiny lobster.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-valuable-caribbean-spiny-lobsters-food.html
Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Dec 2016 12:00:04 ESTnews400415884Who needs a body? Not these larvae, which are basically swimming headsGraduate student Paul Gonzalez at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station recently became a hunter, breeder and farmer of a rare marine worm, all to fill in a considerable gap in our understanding of how animals develop. He knew that some animals go through a long larval stage, a developmental strategy known as indirect development, and this rare worm was his chance to better understand that process.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-body-larvae-basically.html
Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Dec 2016 12:00:02 ESTnews400415401High altitudes hamper hummingbirds' ability to manoeuvreHummingbirds' ability to accelerate and turn diminishes at high altitudes, but it isn't a lack of oxygen to the body that limits the birds' performance—it's physics.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-high-altitudes-hamper-hummingbirds-ability.html
Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Dec 2016 12:00:01 ESTnews400415331Sniffing out your dinner in the dark: How miniature predators get their favourite soil bacteriaTiny predators in the soil can literally sniff out their prey: soil bacteria, which communicate with each other using scent. A team of researchers from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) has discovered that these predators - called protists - 'eavesdrop' on the bacteria's communication. It's a discovery that opens up perspectives for agriculture. The results are available online this month in The ISME Journal, from the publishers of Nature.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-sniffing-dinner-dark-miniature-predators.html
Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Dec 2016 11:22:38 ESTnews400418551Jumping water striders know how to avoid breaking of the water surfaceWater striders spend all their life on the surface of water, and the secrets of their ability to "skate" on the water surface have been discovered more than a decade ago. It is only recently that scientists began to study the biomechanics of nearly vertical jumps that water strider perform on water surface to escape from underwater predators such like fishes or backswimmers (Koh and Yang et al. Science 2015). But do they always succeed?http://phys.org/news/2016-12-striders-surface.html
Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Dec 2016 09:37:42 ESTnews400412245Paris rat catchers deployed to tackle rodent scourgeParis officials have announced a crackdown on rats which blight parks and gardens around the City of Light and are thought to easily outnumber humans.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-paris-rat-catchers-deployed-tackle.html
Ecology Thu, 08 Dec 2016 09:00:01 ESTnews400409612Giraffes 'threatened with extinction'Wild giraffe numbers have plummeted by 40 percent in the past three decades and the species is now "vulnerable" to extinction, a top conservation body said Thursday.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-giraffes-threatened-extinction.html
Ecology Thu, 08 Dec 2016 08:52:08 ESTnews400409524